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Stephen Colbert vs The Hungarian Government
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Thu Aug 10, 2006 12:04 PM
from the under-our-skin-we're-all-colberican dept.
from the under-our-skin-we're-all-colberican dept.
jefu writes "The Hungarian government is sponsoring an internet vote to name a new bridge. So far naming the bridge after acter Chuck Norris has been the most popular. However, last night Stephen Colbert (of Comedy Central's "Colbert Report") suggested that viewers vote to name the bridge after him. Remembering the effect that a Colbert segment had had on Wikipedia, I visited the voting page (in Hungarian when it works) soon after that and it was completely non-responsive. This morning (8:00 Thursday Pacific time) it is showing a "Horrible exception" and a Jetspeed/tomcat stack trace. " I believe Colbert's straight-talking sensibilities have earned him far more than just a bridge in whatever continent Hungaria is in.
Instead I think we should consider renaming one of our lesser used states as an honor more appropriate to his grippy contributions to America. We're not doing anything with Colorado these days anyway, but imagine the appeal of a new and improved state with a virile name like Colberado. Book your tickets today!
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Stephen Colbert vs The Hungarian Government
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Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
(Last Journal: Monday October 02 2006, @08:42AM)
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.initialized.org/)
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.slofstra.com/)
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
(http://quantumphilosophy.net/ | Last Journal: Tuesday December 21 2004, @08:23PM)
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.aloha.com/~knowtree/)
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
Donald Rumsfeld briefed the President this morning. He told Bush that 3
Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq.
To everyone's amazement, all the color drained from Bush's face then he
collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, visibly shaken, almost in tears.
Finally, he composed himself and asked Rumsfeld, "Just exactly how many
is a brazilian?"
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.3fhac.com/ajk.html)
Well, not exactly. The lines [note: ö will stand in here for a long ö, which doesn't seem to be showing up in preview] Tokaj szölövesszein / Nektárt csepegtettél ("you dripped nectar on the grapevines of Tokaj") do appear in the third stanza of the full Himnusz (not that anyone, ever, sings the whole thing). Tokaj is a wine-growing region, justly famous for the wines that are internationally known under the Tokay name (including the sweet dessert wine type called aszú, made with a proportion of moldy grapes
Kiscica
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:4, Informative)
(including the sweet dessert wine type called aszú, made with a proportion of moldy grapes :-)
For those of you who were wondering about the mold: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_rot [wikipedia.org]
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:4, Insightful)
I say this as a Hungarian (magyar) who was born and lived in United States, but moved to Hungary for good.
Yes... I live a few kilometers from the said bridge.
But if the slashdoters wish to vote for a worthy name for the said bridge why not try this:
http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/ [m0hid.gov.hu]
The second or third menu on the left will give you a long list of radio buttons.
(try them all, until you see the long list)
Forget Chuck Norris. Why not vote for something from our history:
Vajk-Istvan Hid (my recomendation)
Vajk/Istvan was our first catholic king of Magyarorszag - 1006 years ago.
Vajk was his pagen name, Istvan his christian name,
he gave up the first and assumed the second.
The bridge is realy two bridges because it is so long.. so the name is fitting.
If the slashdotters feel up to it, lets push this bridge name up the list.
Give it a try (when the server is responding again - 1-3 days)
Ja..and did you know that Hungary is a nation wealthy in foodstuff.
Throughout history there has never been an extended period of hunger.
There was always plenty of food, and the weather was kind too.
Plus it was THE wealthiest nation in Europe several times in history.
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://www.khalidine.com/)
It is a sad state of affairs when the technical people of the most powerful and mega-nuclear-trigger happy country on Earth cannot tell the difference between "Hungry" and "Hungary" and haven't a clue to where it is.
It is a sad state of affairs when the expatriate Americans living in the the world's most underfed nation can't tell the difference between a joke and reality.The Hungarian Food Supply (Score:5, Interesting)
Ja..and did you know that Hungary is a nation wealthy in foodstuff. Throughout history there has never been an extended period of hunger. There was always plenty of food, and the weather was kind too.
Well, there was that period in the 1200s after the Mongols tore through Hungary and killed off something like a third of the population. Starvation was pretty common because the peasants were either dead or hiding in the woods, so no food was being produced. That, however, is pretty much ancient history.
That said, Hungary is quite a productive agricultural country. I spent six weeks there one summer traveling around, seeing the sights (and practicing my rudimentary Hungarian), and I fondly remember the good food. The juicy, sweet peaches left a lasting impression on me, and I sure would like to go back to Eger for the great wine. Once on a train, a few elderly women shared their pogacsa (little bread roll type thingies) with me, and I absolutely loved them.
In my opinion, Hungarian wine is quite underrated.
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Why stop at a bridge? (Score:5, Funny)
If Hungary attacks Albania from the rear will Greece help?
Acter? (Score:4, Funny)
(http://www.secexp.com/ | Last Journal: Monday July 07 2003, @03:41PM)
---
Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together?
A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home.
Re:moren? (Score:5, Funny)
Audio pronunciation of "whoosh" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hwsh, wsh, hwsh, wsh) also woosh (wsh, wsh)
n.
1. A sibilant sound: the whoosh of the high-speed elevator.
2. A swift movement or flow; a rush or spurt.
3. The sound of a joke going right over your head
Name places after talk show hosts? Why not! (Score:5, Funny)
(Last Journal: Monday October 02 2006, @08:42AM)
Re:Name places after talk show hosts? Why not! (Score:5, Funny)
(http://slashdot.org/ | Last Journal: Monday January 31 2005, @05:48PM)
Re:Name places after talk show hosts? Why not! (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.ericbarker.com/ | Last Journal: Wednesday October 10, @08:43PM)
Funny you should mention that. During the mid-90s, my father and I trained our dog to poop at the command "Gingrich!". Our neighbors musta thought we were some crazy neocons running around chanting, "Gingrich, Gingrich, Gingrich! ...Good dog!!!"
Re:Where's Magyarország? (Score:5, Informative)
(http://mp3bat.com/)
So heck... We can keep calling Hungary or Germany or Burma anything we want because they call themselves something else.
Re:Where's Magyarország? (Score:4, Informative)
Asia Minor is essentially Turkey, so you are only off by a few thousand miles.
changes on top list (Score:3, Informative)
Re:changes on top list (Score:5, Informative)
(http://kiriath-arba.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Tuesday May 15 2007, @06:55AM)
Zenebutik-Zenehid -> Music boutique - Music bridge (I've never heard zenebutik stuck together like that, so it may mean something other than the literal translation)
Chuck Norris Hid -> Chuck Norris Bridge. Hid means bridge, I'm not going to keep translating that word.
Zrinyi Hid -> Zrinyi is a famous historical Hungarian family (http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/Z/Zrinyi.asp)
Vásárhelyi Boldizsár -> Not sure on this one. Vásárhelyi is an adjective that means "shopping place", so that's weird, and I don't know what Boldizsár means.
Bethlen Gábor -> Another hero of another failed rebellion. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Bethlen) Hungarian history is very sad for the last couple of hundred years, if you haven't gathered that.
Batthyány Lajos -> Hero of the failed uprising of the Hungarians against the Austro-Hungarian empire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lajos_Batthy%C3%A1n
Szent Korona -> Holy Crown
Bocskai István -> Transylvanian Prince (that was part of Hungary) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Bocskay [wikipedia.org]
Hunyadi Mátyás -> Popular Hungarian king (http://www.iearn.hu/balkans/bpeople/matyas.htm)
Szent István -> Saint Steven (don't ask me how Istvan translates into Steven, let alone how the nickname for Istvan is Pisti, kind of richard and dick, but even more off). He was the first Christian king of Hungary, also known as "Istvan a Kiraly" (Stephen the King)
Re:changes on top list (Score:5, Informative)
Zenebutik-Zenehíd 260730 [13%] - Music shop - Music bridge (from some hungarian 20y old music programme)
Chuck Norris - híd 158656 [8%]
Zrínyi híd 156978 [8%] - named after Zrínyi, historical figure
Vásárhelyi Boldizsár - híd 155314 [8%] - historical figure
Bethlen Gábor - híd 152720 [8%] - historical figure
Batthyány Lajos híd 122877 [6%] - historical figure
Szent Korona - híd 122325 [6%] - Saint Crown bridge
Bocskai István - híd 121137 [6%] - historical figure
Hunyadi Mátyás - híd 120784 [6%] - historical figure
Szent István - híd 119985 [6%]- Saint Stephen, 1st king of Hungary
Híd = bridge
Btw, the bridge is part of the M0 beltway that goes 'round Budapest. It is supposed to be built "any year now" for the last twenty...
Righteous Indignation! (Score:5, Funny)
Tip of the hat to Lloyd Bentson for his single meaningful - and truly eternal - contribution to political discourse.
Re:changes on top list (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course, the segment pieces are designed to take people's words out of context and make them look stupid - I am prety sure that Stewart himself has said he can't believe people still take interviews with them.
Colbert's most amazing piece of work is that he got Congressmen and women to do interviews and those are sometimes very ridiculous. I can't imagine he will get to finish his 'better know a distric' segment.
Re:changes on top list (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://localhost/)
Hungaria? (Score:4, Funny)
Check your facts! (Score:4, Funny)
And the country is in Eastern Europe.
Though, given the average American these days, we should feel luck he didn't think it was in the US.
Besides, Chuck Norris doesn't need a bridge. Chuck Norris walks to the river and the water gets out of his way. Sorry.
Re:Check your facts! (Score:5, Funny)
(http://ret3.net/)
Re:Check your facts! (Score:4, Funny)
All Your Country Are Belong To U.S. (Score:5, Funny)
Well, it might belong to the U.S. Does Hungary have any oil?
Re:Check your facts! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Check your facts! (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.chemicalwonderland.net/ | Last Journal: Monday September 03, @10:34PM)
Re:Check your facts! (Score:5, Funny)
Slashdot effect? (Score:5, Funny)
There goes the Hungarian electric grid.
Yeah but I heard (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hungaria? (Score:5, Informative)
(http://insignifica.org/ | Last Journal: Friday December 20 2002, @02:38AM)
Re:Colorado? (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.mrmcfeely.com/)
New slashdot slogan (Score:4, Funny)
(http://127.0.0.1/ | Last Journal: Thursday February 03 2005, @06:09PM)
Re:New slashdot slogan (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, Stewart seems to be less prepared and more improvisionational on his show. Overdone is not the word I would use to describe it. I find him and Colbert entertaining - even so the words "politically slanted," and "obnoxiously sarcastic" may be a more apt way to negatively characterize the show. Stewart is under no illusion that his show actually counts as news, anyhow, so he has no real obligation to be either polite or objective.
Letterman and Leno give you the blunted, sanitized, and politically neutral jokes that Stewart tosses into the trash, and their sole purpose is to comfort you with harmless banter after the slew of bad news you just received at 11 o'clock and a hard day at work.